


Quillsword

by Naruzeldamaster



Category: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 11:17:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15605127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naruzeldamaster/pseuds/Naruzeldamaster
Summary: In a foreign land, an ambitious kings darkness seeks to claim the light. Such a sad tale, for only the bravest souls would join the coming fight. The faerie princess had chosen her knight. But in her folly, she hadn't realized that her knight was but a naive. His armor did not shine as it protected his heart, he had lost that magical spark. His blade a mere quill, his whetstone was ink and paper; he was a simple man, with simple ambitions. Thus did the faerie decide her fate, she would ignite this lost or possibly stolen spark before it was too late.Note: This is an original work of fiction, it is unrelated to any 'fandom' but heavily inspired by Ni no Kuni. Ao3 Has no way to post original works yet, so this is the most fitting substitute category.





	Quillsword

Author's Note:  
This is a work of fiction, it is somewhat genre savvy and inspired by well, a lot of things, too many to list in my opinion. The main one is certainly Ni No Kuni: Wrath of The White Witch. Any similarities in narrative, characters, and plot are strictly coincidental. 

 

Prologue: Once Upon A Time

“I'd like to take this book.”

That was a turn of phrase the retired scribe would hear so many times a day. Being assigned to the human realm after a couple of incidents had turned a once passionate hobby into a chore. There were many avid readers, but very few would brave the particularly decorative chamber in the back of the otherwise boring library. She had grown so bored with her day job that she hadn't bothered to look at the man.

“Absolutely, just let me scan your library card on this absurd contraption.” She sighed a bit as she spoke, technology was different here, and she was far more familiar with something that was more or less gone from the human realm. 

“Does the president's son really require something so trivial to rent a tome? Most places let me get away with anything as long as I can pay,” the young man stated bluntly as he shrugged his shoulders.

“President's spawn or not lad, rules are rules; so you better present your card if you wish to leave with-” she paused a moment, and her face went pale as she eyed the book in question. “Anything besides that blasted thing!” The librarian snapped as she swiped the book from the boy's hand.

“Oh? I had picked it out because a nice gal told me it was a good read. By the way, you're making a harmless tome seem quite important.” He had to admit he only had a passing interest because his father instructed him to find it, now he was curious about what tales the book held.

“Aye-it be plenty harmless, so harmless that that sneaky president convinced his boy to fetch it for em; and so average that said boy elected to keep his security detail around the outside of the library,” the librarian eyed him over, looking for any form of wire tap. “And who on earth even kne-ugh, that faerie again! Lemme guess, that 'nice gal' had hair that would make a curly fry jealous, and her manner of dress be somethin out of a Native American documentary?” Just the mere thought of that walking headache being responsible was enough for her to groan in annoyance.

“Er...faerie, did you hit your head or something? I mean yeah she dressed like one, but that doesn't mean she is one. Also something tells me you two aren't on the best terms, and if I was a gambling man that tome is responsible?” He questioned the librarian more out of curiosity than anything, he wouldn't have pried if her reaction wasn't so big.

“Told ya them normal humans can't tell the difference between our kind! We faerie are very much real thank you, and sure as sunrise that tome is harmless. I mean, don't judge a book by it's cover n all but-ow! Oi, librarian, ya know that's not what them prayer wands be used for yeah?” The faerie girl was a bit annoyed, since it was rare for even an experienced shrine maid to attempt to bonk her, let alone seal her away.

“Listen, being the queen to be of the faerie folk doesn't exempt you from your screw ups! Remember Atlantis? Course ya don't, it's been centuries and beyond; you faerie folk might live far longer than us humans but your memory sure don't! Lemme ask you lass, can you tame a thunderstorm, a tornado, a tsunami? Course not, so what makes you think wordsmithy is any more controllable?” The librarian placed her staff off to the side after she was through bonking the hyperactive idiot.

“Alright, now you've got me even more interested, care to tell me why that old tome is such a cause of tension between you two? Is it such a problem that my father had taken a questionable level of interest in it?” The president's son asked with concern as he gave both girls an equal glance of concern.

“Long story short, this lass here be a royal screw up. So wise ones went and charged my family with babysitting; problem bein, she specializes in making 'wee' things into bigger things, including problems,” the librarian stated bluntly as she examined the book for any sign of activity. “Basically the king of Atlantis's ambition got the better of him, so *someone* decided to let wordsmithy fix the mess she made; and this book sure did 'fix' Atlantis alright!” She had heard the story from her grandmother, and on top of that it was but one of many tales the tome held.

The book itself was made of the finest leather, but it's make and origin were positively ancient. It bore several signs of wear and tear, like it had lived a hundred or so battles if not more. Thankfully the magic within it's pages was fully contained, and slumbering. Unfortunately the pages had gone blank once more, which meant room for one more tale.

“Look, the king of Atlantis wanted me to craft a book that would record his history for the world ta see. How was I supposed to know that wordsmithy was gonna make everythin he tried to write about himself come true?” The faerie questioned innocently as she thought about the first tale the book wrote for itself, apparently it didn't like the kings ambition.

“I told your kind once lass, and I'll tell you specifically a thousand times more! Wordsmithy is a force of nature, it's not something you can toy with so easily. Actually...that gives me a good cautionary tale to tell mister president here. Now where to start,” The librarian hummed in thought for a moment, she had to recall all the details perfectly.  
___________________________________________________________________________________ 

 

Chapter 1: A Man Beyond Words

Niles Noviare was a man, his physique was as average as his height; his suit and tie was no more than a middle-class worker could afford. He was a simple man of simple need, to get paid; he was often paid for his words, even when they weren't always his. Many hired him for his bluntness, others his father's legacy. The man was a writer known for works of fiction, a shame the only thing Niles inherited from him was a small apartment building and a single handmaid. What little remained of his father's legacy, it was enough for him to review multiple forms of media. Food and drink were his go to jobs, but nothing stopped him from enjoying an intriguing film; even a novel or two failed to escape his cynical gaze. It was a hard choice to make, but one he gladly made; since Hitomi wasn't exactly fit for anything beyond possibly work as a body-guard if the maid thing didn't pan out. 

“Oh I know that look let me guess, Niles, another one note establishment about to lose a star? I take it you're here to occupy my personal 'reading to the kids' room again. You realize you only get to use that room because of that ogre-maid of yours right?” Niles was all too familiar with the librarian's snark, despite having a forked tongue, her eyes revealed a glint of amusement. It was practically a game at this point to see who could get under whose skin first.

“Trust me, call her that to her face and you'll wish she was an ogre, there's plenty of stories about what she could be. But what matters now is that she is a maid who worked for father, and now me. As for the unfortunate food establishment, that only happened because of my current publisher's renown for honesty. I personally did have a horrible experience, this time I mean. But that's just me being...me, everything wrong about that place made me itch,” Niles sighed as he thought about his first year, the higher ups wanted to see if the rumors about his bluntness were true. His father died ten years ago, leaving a name and a small collection of written novels behind, this was a far greater weight than any pressure from a publisher.

The librarian gave Niles a glance with a smug, knowing grin on her face. “You sure you aren't makin your critique sour to spite your old man? Niles, those words won't reach him ya know, you'd best banish your personal demons before karma if it even is a thing catches up to you.” She was certain she was at least partially right, she had known Niles a long time, so she kind of knew what made him tick.

 

Niles actually had to pause a moment to consider the truthfulness of her statement; rather than dress like her current job, the librarian chose to wear the garbs of her old job. Apparently she used to live in Tokyo with her father, tending to some of those abandoned temples. Her manner of speaking certainly fit the role, as she was a living thesaurous of fortune cookie-esque idioms for nearly any instance. She definitely knew more than enough about the culture as well, telling many old ghost stories he wouldn't have found out about otherwise. Occasionally her cackle could shake the rafters, Niles wouldn't be surprised to find out she was a ghost herself.

 

“I'll pass on any proverbs or magic tricks today ma'am; I've got a job to do, so make sure I'm not disturbed unless literal hell is being raised,” Niles stated with an exasperated sigh and frustration in his tone, he was already in the middle of a long day; her proverbs were only making it longer, and some days he just needed time alone.

“Fine, fine, killjoy, ya used to be quite a hoot when you were a little runt. What happened to that magical smile of yours whenever I told little Niles one of my fairy tales? Just don't come cryin to me lad if something bizarre happens to ye soon enough. My bones have been aching lately, that's a surefire sign somethin big is gonna happen.” The librarian visibly shuddered and almost jumped when thunder rolled as she spoke, she always hated rain, since it usually meant bad news in works of fiction.

Niles shrugged his shoulders as that particular thunder roll ended. “If you must know, life happened to that magical smile. Namely my father being incarcerated for copyright infringement, not to mention some other not great memories I really don't need brought up today,” he finished with a deadpan tone as he reached for the key and gently took it from her. He wanted to make it clear his frustration was with the topic, rather than her antics and that was a way to do it.

After receiving the key to the private study, he took a moment to admire the library itself. The place looked like a set of a historical fiction piece set in the late eighteen hundreds. If the current librarian's family really did design it, they certainly fancied a more fantasy architecture. Each section of the library was stuffed wall to wall with books, barring the private study in the back and the open reading area with several computers lined up like the average library would have. The only difference with the private study was the extra bit of personal space, the two walls of donated or bought books and a coffee brewer and mini stove for making small meals. Granted that was nothing special either, not compared to the five star kitchen back home at least. The old grandfather clock was truly a work of art, despite the fact that the clockwork had been removed some time ago. He was surprised to see that many of the books looked decades old, if not centuries or beyond; but the way they were organized was unholy, they were alphabetical to be sure but ignored the decimal system entirely.

Niles halted for a moment, glared at the bookcase as if sizing up an opponent, then sighed. “It is not my workspace, I should leave them as is and focus on my work,” he uttered to himself a bit begrudgingly, fully aware there was nobody else in the room to talk to, it made him feel better anyway.

Once he had cleaned the table to the point where he could see his reflection, he had to place the decorations on the table back where they were. He proceeded to brew a pot of coffee or at least start on one, while he took the time to make a small work space of the table. Nile's meticulous nature often caused him to get distracted quite often, to the point where he simply couldn't work if everything wasn't perfectly lined up. It was one of the reasons the order of the books bothered him, surely a librarian could at least order her personal collection at the library in the proper way. Other things about the room bothered him too, to the point where he had finished brewing his coffee by the time he'd fixed everything that made him get that itch. His attention drawn once more to the potentially worthy foe; the disorder in the room had fallen so quickly and only served as a minor distraction.

“The books belong to either her or the library, it pains me but I should leave them be.” Niles would rather waste time in a productive way, and fixing a bookshelf wasn't going to get him paid.

Niles had to admit that with his personal experience at the establishment as a secondary factor, he couldn't wait to go straight for the throat. However the particular client he was writing the review for was also pretty serious about detail, and wanted a few back handed compliments as well. His publisher also vouched for at least one bad meal there. Niles didn't want to be too brutal either, or risk causing the establishment to lose consumers based on the publisher's fame alone never mind his own name's legitimacy. It was a hard business to be in, but it was one that allowed him to experience things he might not have otherwise.

“Gah, why does phrasing this nonsense need to be so difficult?” Niles wasn't particularly upset with his review, it was as always the context of it. 

He had chosen yet again, to let his wallet do the talking, which resulted in a particularly venomous review. The real cause of frustration was that it started getting so distracting that he had do do something to sort his thoughts out. A video game wouldn't work, Hitomi had disabled the wi-fi on his work laptop; an audiobook wouldn't work considering his sour experience with a novel a few days before. At this point he turned to that disorderly bookshelf, often his father would nitpick him for detail; it was settled, he wouldn't be able to work until everything was organized. He first ordered them by color, then by genre, followed finally by title assuming it didn't contradict the first two rules. When Niles was distracted like this, the passing of time was near unnoticable; to the point where the clock had started to chime.

 

“Don't tell me this is what I think it is.” Niles thought out loud as he spotted an oddly shaped groove at the back of the shelf toward the end of what he'd arranged as the high fantasy section.

It was a small crest that resembled an eye shape, akin to the type he had often encountered in puzzle games. There wasn't much to do but deliberate if it held any real meaning, or just the work of a bored child during reading time, most likely the latter. The types of kids the librarian did read to were a bit different than most. Niles knew this because at one point in his life he was one of them, leading him to question the woman's actual age for a moment. That moment was merely long enough for the old grandfather clock to stop chiming.

“That's certainly, curio-er...odd.” Niles stated as he examined the clock to see if it had been tampered with, which equally concerned and dissapointed him.

There was another strange occurrence after the clock stopped chiming, two books had fallen to the floor by some unknown force. Even he could sense a change in atmosphere, surely that merely was due to the thunderstorm that had started up. Either it was his imagination; one of the many gods toying with him, or both. Logic would dictate that he simply put the books back where he had initially placed them. Fate unfortunately didn't operate on logic, even in real life. He placed the first book back where it belonged, but the second one was clearly a different novel. It was an odd one at that, no title, nor title imagery barring the ornate carvings that reminded him once more of a particular style of story. Niles let out a heavy sigh of frustration as he noticed the same eye shape on the spine of the tome. Now this was just getting silly, the pattern perfectly lined up with the height of the groove on the bookshelf.

“Alright little rabbit, I'll bite...but you'd better not make me late for tea,” Niles inwardly groaned after he actually said it, even he knew that was corny. But he was getting curious-er and curious-er so he simply had to do it.

Patiently, and cautiously, he slid the book, spine first back onto the shelf. Making sure the pattern lined up exactly so as he did. As if on cue, the final chime of five pm rang out as he finished tucking the little rabbit into it's den, so to speak. Niles was a bit dissapointed as at first nothing happened, but that changed to confusion when small grooves suddenly lined the edge of the wall around the clock. He knew for a fact that there was solid concrete behind that clock, and no way for it to move; yet here it was, sliding off to the side. Once the clock had finished moving that same symbol appeared on the wall in a quick flash, which of course gave way to a hidden passage. The path was similar to most old mine shafts, a simple cooridor leading downward; lit just enough to see your nose in front of your face by small ceiling lanterns he was surprised to find out still worked. It wasn't a very long path, but it did lead to a large and nearly empty room; barring an ornate pedestal to place a book on. By far the most interesting thing about the path was the mural on the back wall, depicting some type of faerie princess being crowned. If there were other parts to the story the mural told, time had surely worn them away.

Niles placed a hand on the pedestoll in the center of the room. “Dissapointing that my first big adventure would end so quickly, and with no reward.” He did feel a strange presence, but beyond that, nothing was there but the pedestool and the wall mural.

“Right? I mean you think there'd be some book or somethin interesting like that! Looks like some snarky adventurer beat ya to the punch!” The voice belonged to a woman, roughly his age and bearing a somewhat similar build to the faerie in the mural. He wouldn't normally be suspicious, but her manner of dress, hair style, and hair color were also a near picture perfect match.

“I'm only going to ask this once; how did you get in here?” Niles questioned her as he crossed his arms, he was certain that he hadn't passed a single person on the way in to the private study let alone the secred passage.

“Same way you did of course! Still, kinda surprising someone besides me even sneaks into here ya know? Ya normal folk aren't exactly the adventurin types like you used to be, all yer tales recently have been all about the future n' whatnot,” the girl chimed with excitement as she greeted Niles with the peace sign.

Niles gave her a quick once over, she was a little easier than the girl in the mural to look at at the very least.“That doesn't answer my question, particularly because my legs are still attached to my body. And I much prefer science fiction over fantasy, there's nothing quite like an adventure with some inspired technology.” He wasn't sure what to think of the red-head, she seemed innocent enough on the surface, but she had an odd spark in her eye he couldn't put a finger on.

“Oh! So ya fancy yourself a funny man do ye, cute, stupid but cute. This building be so old I don't actually remember how I ended up sealed up in here to begin with, anywho name's Titania! I gotta question for ya, they call folks like you a wordsmith yeah?” Tiatnia replied without attempting to hide her snark, instead she opted to offer him a handshake.

“I've been addressed as such by the publishers I work for, yes, what of it? To clarify I meant the wordsmith part, and how could you not remember? Either way I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it starts with ex shrine maiden and ends with librarian, likely her grandmother if we're being logical.” Niles had to admit he was puzzled, but he had more important work to do than chat up someone playing at being an adventurer.

Titania pulled out a peculular tome from her pouch and presented it to him. “If you're a wordsmith, ya can help me with my situation back home. And to do that I need ya to get in this book,” excitement was in her tone as she made her remark, she had found what she was stuck waiting who knows how long for.

Niles eyed the book, then the strange girl before eyeing the book again. Outside of it's design, there was nothing extraordinary about it; outside of one particular detail. Despite it's ancheint make, it appeared to have not aged a day. The ornate pattern pressed into the tan leather was exquisite, and there was plenty of room on the cover for an oddly absent title. Even stranger, the book was surprisingly blank; what purpose could a blank book serve? The pages inside were un-aged as well, though they seemed to be a bit more worn. The paper itself was the type used in old watercolor or paintings, overall the book was a truly interesting little white rabbit. He figured the girl knew the contents of her precious tome, so he decided to answer her odd request.

“There, but next time you want an autograph just ask for one; oh, and my father is the famous author, not me.” Niles had written his name on the back of the last page of the book, so it'd be easy for her to find.

Titania crossed her arms and eyed Niles over after taking the book back. “Eh? So my chosen hero be a bit player and not a lead actor, mayhaps I should stop goin with my gutt for this nonsense. Oi-where are ya goin, mister wordsmith, I still gotta lot of stuff ta work out here!” Titania was lost in thought long enough for her hopefully good protagonist to walk out of the chamber without her, she was even more surprised to see him already back to work on his review.

Titania was a little bit confused though, surely she wasn't sealed in the chamber for so long she forgot most of her memories. There had to be more to it, she did remember the problem back home being a rather complicated one but that was about it. Once she caught up with Niles she managed to get a peek at the review he had written from behind his shoulders. He had the potential to be a wordsmith with a vocabulary and attention to detail like that. She wasn't sold on his personality, he seemed a little too much like a stick in the mud to be a real hero.

“Cripes! Spit any more venom mister wordsmith and your publishers will confuse ya for a viper,” Titania stated teasingly as she finished reading it, the criticisms made weren't particularly cruel but anyone without a decent understanding of the english language might think it was.

“Except those publishers actually pay me to spit said venom, which allows me to support a half decent appartment and my only house-maid,” Niles replied coldly as he closed his laptop down; it was almost time for that maid to come pick him up.

Titania decided to give the review another once-over, and Niles a wry grin. “You know, ya could write nice reviews and get paid to not spit venom,” she suggested with the warmest tone she could muster, surely he could realize that being cynical wasn't great if you did so all the time.

“Yes-I'm well aware, and so too are my not too honest publishers. The going rate for a good review is barely enough to keep me fed with a well lit game room. And if you saw how much they were paying for my usual commentary you wouldn't be teasing me about it.” Niles answered with a bit of frustration in his tone, he figured showing her what he made might get his point across quicker, so he took out his last paycheck and showed it to her.

“Ha-like what they pay ya is enough to chang your work eth-that...is a lotta zeroes.” Titania stared blankly at the paycheck, it was no wonder he'd gotten so articulate at being cynical.

“Bear in mind this is a monthly paycheck, and my budget for my one handmaid along with bills, rent, and either of our indulgances. By the time we get to that point each month it's enough to stave off each of our vices considerably...more or less.” Niles added that last bit in favor of admitting that they were both terrible at quitting cold turky. 

“Eh? Whatcha mean when ya say more or less, doesn't less usually equal more?” Titania asked with a bit of confusion in her tone as she tried to sort out the meaning herself.

“Master Niles, are you finished with your work for the day? You do remember that you don't get biscuits with our evening tea if you haven't completed at least one assignment, and you do know our rule about being late.” It was an innocent, charming voice Niles knew since he was young, Hitomi had a really odd habbit of showing up if the discussion involved her in some way. 

Truth be told, Hitomi always had a way of showing up right when she was needed. Right now Niles needed a distraction from the annoying fly that had decided to critque his critque. The maid herself was nothing if not exceptional; incredible service, attention to detail, loyalty and well, height. A seven foot tall wonder of meticulous behavior with red eyes and tan hair; the only dissapointment was that her figure didn't exactly line up with those of the maids in the anime she had exposed him to as a child. This however was a boon, since her slim build allowed her to move around their appartment at the pace of a delighted little fox. 

“I'll have you know I finished two reviews today. One for that nightmare of a novel 'The Edgelord Chronicles' that I recently was paid honestly too little to read, which I posted this morning; and the other for the establishment I was requested to review the lunch menu of. And besides, aren't you the late one today Hitomi? You realize you can buy green tea at grocery stores these days correct.” Niles responded with a light bit of annoyance in his tone as he opened the door, sure enough she had an extra bag among her things today.

Titania was frozen with fear at the mention of that name, all but her lips and the non-exsistant filter between her brain and mouth. “Cripes, did you just say h-h-h...wait a tick, whe're on the normal, borin' side of reality; I'm probably over thinking it.” she whispered as quietly as possible before coming to that conclusion.

Normal, boring, what on earth did she mean by that; her reaction to that name alone warrents an investigation later, now I've got other concerns. Niles was certain that Titania only recognized the name, the chances that the eccentric girl already knew his Hitomi were slimmer than lightning striking the same location twice.

 

“And settle for the generic brand herbs, master? Heavens no, my father would be absolutely livid if he had heard I served you discount tea. I'll have you know I'm late because the man at the China shop absolutely refused to haggle; and I just had to have this mask, it reminds me of my family.” Hitomi's voice was as smooth as silk as she entered the room and began setting up the small japanese tea set from her case that she nearly always had with her.

“A mask...from a China shop...ok, what outlandish antique did you buy this time?” Niles was a bit concerned as he raised a brow at his servant.

“Outlandish, perhaps for your culture master Niles; but my family goes pretty far back in China's history. The reason I bought it was because it was a near-perfect fit for me.” Hitomi explained with amusement as she took the mask out of it's bag and carefully unwrapped the cloth.

“Oi, I've seen one of them kinda masks before, it's ah-Noh Theater yeah?” Titania had finally snapped out of it, that maid lady had mentioned a country of this realm, she was at least sort of safe for now.

Niles was a bit surprised that Titania even recognized the mask's particular shape and make. What concerned him wasn't the cost, nor where she bought it if his hunch was right. The simple fact that a Noh mask reminded her of family made him itch for answers, further, the mask was the one often used to depict the Oni, creatures most would call japanese spirits or demons. Hitomi did sometimes have an otherworldy air about her, if she was losing her patients, but that would be a stretch to say the least. She was probably just playing pretend for the sake of a laugh, like she used to when he was little. Now that he had thought about it, it was strange that she really didn't seem to age much in the ten long years that he knew her. 

“Indeed it is, I've been saving up for almost a year for it; and, there, the tea is finished.” Hitomi stated with a sigh of relief as she finished pouring the three of them a cup.

“That still doesn't cover the elephant in the room Hitomi, what is it about a theater mask that reminds you of your family?” Niles had to admit that she wasn't always so forthcoming with info about her family, so now was the time to ask since she at leased seemed to have her guard down.

“I mean, it's called a theater mask for a reason yeah, obviously they were performers.” Titania commented as she started flipping through her book, it wasn't hers exactly, but she was sealed away with it.

Hitomi tilted her head slightly. “Eh, performers? Ah yes er, w-well they certainly did perform admerably for their troupe.” She had put unintentional emphisis on that last word as she noticed her master's new friend in a bit of a panic.

“No, this is bad-like super bad, mega ultra bad!” Titania was slowly turning the pages, with each turn picking up the pace, speed reading would be putting it mildly.

“You forgot DX, Extend, and omega bad.” Niles commented with what equated to a smile for his standards on his lips, he knew exactly why she was panicking.

Titania had shown herself to be full of energy, and emotion, but not quite to this extent. Niles did feel bad about making light of her growing concern, but sometimes he just couldn't resist a chance to be blunt. It was clear the cause of this stress was the tome's blank pages, what wasn't clear at least to him was it's exact meaning. It wasn't often he was actually concerned enough to take the time to think of a better response, but the girl had left a unique first impression on him. It was almost relatable how she slammed the book down on the table, took a deep breath, and a sip of tea before directing her frustration elsewhere.

“Oi funny man, this is not the time to be jokin yeah? Look, the pages are empty, blank, more white than an artic tundra! This means nothin at all to ye normal folk, but it is a HUGE problem for me! What good is bein a wordsmith mister funny guy if ya can't help solve issues like this.” Titania showed the empty pages to both Hitomi and Niles, hoping to gain sympathy, only to be met with confusion.

Niles was no longer amused by his new friends pannicked state, she seemed to be in considerable stress, he needed to know why. “Wordsmith, you keep saying that like it means something to me; spoiler alert, all it means to us folk on the normal, boring side is we're fancy at usin words. You seem to know japanese culture, but missed the point of the tea entirely. Take another breath and start from the top.” His butchered attempt at her accent and speaking mannorisms asside, he was satisfied in his statement.

Titania had to admit the man had a point, she was focusing on the what of the problem, not how to fix it. She hadn't bothered explaining her situation that much either, and after another sip of tea she made sure to do so. There were so many places to start, but she had to start with what she knew, a brief explanation of wordsmithy, the other side of reality and her relation to that side. Plenty of the details were too fuzzy to recall, so she settled for what Niled had asked first and foremost. After that she figured his curiosity would be sated for now, and was hoping her gut instinct about him was correct.

“I'm afraid I'm not fit to help you, what are the odds of me even being able to tame this power this king of yours intends to corrupt?” Niles had to admit he was curious, since he now knew a bit more about Titania's situation.

“You're not foolin me are ya, you're sure your whole family is from this side? It don't take much to be a wordsmith, a pen, paper, and a little of this.” Titania stated seriously as she pointed toward her chest, she wasn't entirely sure how to put it to words.

“A sternum? But mine is functioning just fine at the moment, what's special about yours?” Niles couldn't help but chuckle to himself, he knew full well he was risking annoying Hitomi; but some puns had to be made.

Hitomi let out an exhasperated sigh.“No, no, master Niles-she means passion; and you do tend to get quite...dedicated at times.” Hitomi commented while bonking Niles on the head lightly, she often had a chance to catch him before the pun got out, this wasn't one of them.

“Yes! Exactly that, er-some other things too...knightly stuff ya know, chivelry, manners? I mean, no hero's ever perfect at the start of their journey. Just look at Sun-Wu-oh...bad example, uh, as to why well...that's kinda complicated. Please, don't make a poor, innocent lass beg, all the heroes I pick from my side end up vanishin, or worse!” Titania had just remembered exactly why she disliked the king, his likeness was nothing like the legend of his heroic side.

Niles crossed his arms, didn't this faerie girl know that the one way to make someone more interested in a problem statement was to handwave it so suspiciously? Honestly, if this girl wasn't wearing her heart on her sleeve, he'd call her out for trying to manipulate him. He hadn't detected any ill will since he met her; and Hitomi who was a good judge of character seemed to take a shine to her immediately, which was rare. To be blunt, he had no interest in heroics, nor the fame tied to them; to make that his reality would make his sole escape from reality moot. Even still, if this wordsmithy Titania had explained earlier was indeed so powerful; it would make sense for a dangerous king to see it as a potential threat, or worse, a boon to their cause. At best he liked to present himself as a gentleman, and a real gentleman never turned down a request of a lady. For all he knew he could end up solving some puzzles and performing feats of daring do anyway, and that might actually be fun.

“At the risk of sounding pacifistic, note I won't be sticking my neck out if the situation goes beyond what I can handle. If at any point this quest of yours puts me or those I actually care about at risk, I'm out. On one condition...what kind of faerie are you, exactly?” Niles stated as he stood up and began putting his laptop away.

“Eh?? That's all, ya mean all I had to do was tell ya me lot in life and you'd call my bet insteada foldin on the first hand? Er-I'm not so great at wordin things, so uh...I guess, I make small things bigger?” Titania wasn't entirely sure herself, sure her powers worked sometimes; but more often she couldn't get them to respond, and even then it tended to backfire.

Niles wasn't that satisfied with that explanation, while it did make sense; she failed to give him a proper context. What little information she did give him was enough to get his gears turning, there were many possibilities. He had some ideas; some were good, some not so much and others were more mischevious than anything. Every answer he came to had potential to be true, that thought alone scared him. Judging from the mural depicting such a faerie girl as a warrior princess, he'd rather not take excessive risks.

“Master Niles, why are you eying me like that? I can tell you're planning something for later, possibly, out with it.” It was at times like this too where Hitomi had to be frank with him, sometimes he got so lost in his own head that it took serious threats or bribes to snap him out of a train of thought.

“If by planning something you meant hedging my bets, then yes I was up to something. As for what exactly I was thinking; a mere moment of weakness brought on by the instincts and anxiaties of the average single male. I blame both the animes you buy me on your own and your near annual complaints about anime girls who 'fill out their overly designed dresses more' for this.” Niles replied after clearing his throat, had he been any paler of a caucasian he wouldn't be hiding his brief bit of blushing while he said that.

“My, My, you certainly don't mince words do you master Niles?” Hitomi couldn't hold back her snicker, at least he was fairly innocent in his distractions.

“You know better than I do the only thing I mince is ingrediants I plan to stuff pastery with.” Niles let out an annoyed sigh as he pushed the more silly ideas out of his head, a possible footnote yes, but Hitomi was perfect as she was.

“Hold the phone; yer tellin me king deadpan over here knows how to swing a kitchen blade? Huh, I guess you really can't judge a book by it's cover eh? I'm kinda outta practice, but I could try usin my powers in that context; never thoughta doin anything quite like that before. Now lessee, which element was tied to matturing growth again...” Titania was only teasing as she made like she was about to try using the might of her natural abilities.

“NO!” Both Niles and Hitomi shouted at the same time, with an equal amount of pannick between them.

 

“I happen to be just fine with how I am, if anything I'd be more than likely to request to be shorter. My master likely agrees wholeheartedly with said sentiment, right master Niles?” Hitomi was shocked that he had been so in sync with her, if only for a brief moment. Typically people weren't always on the same page as her, Niles tended to be chapters appart.

“I mean, you are always commenting on not having anywhere to rest your serving trays on,” Niles froze mid scentence as he felt a sinister aura from Hitomi, not so much evil, more like a death glare. “Ahem, but of course that'd be absolutely silly, the consequences would far outweigh the potential utility. Besides, aren't magicks like that typically prone to backfire; given what little context we have on exactly how your faerie powers work I wouldn't risk it. Further, Hitomi is far more useful as she is now; and changing anything about her would be a distraction.” Niles was at least being honest, and judging from the fact that Hitomi was calming down she seemed to agree.

“Yesh you two, I was only foolin~ I don't think I'd be able to pull anythin too fancy anyhow until I got my memory back. And uh, about that, I'm...not entirely sure how to get back to my side, or how long it'll be before I just poof outta exsisting.” Titania sighed as she came to that realization, in all the excitement of testing her skill she had forgotten that there were no stories about her left.

“Well that simply won't do, now even I want to see how far this rabbit hole goes. Is there not something we can do to help you recover your memory, is this situation severe, or fairly common?” Hitomi found this girl legitimately entertaining, it'd be a shame for someone like her to merely vanish.

“Lessee, I do remember this bein a common thing back home; my people would get sealed away in shrines for misbehavin see? The worse the crime or screw up the longer we were sealed, and the more memory lost. Guess it's closer to rehab than bein locked up, given I remember my name and what I came to do; I figure a comfy bed and a good meal aughta do the trick.” Titania was fairly certain she wasn't sealed for a crime, which meant she had messed up quite royally. The question was a matter of when, and how.

“Intriguing, I suppose we have a spare room for you; for a single night, and I'll do the cooking. As for that problem of you vanishing, may I borrow that book for a while?” Niles was sure that a warm meal wouldn't do much; but then again until today he was also sure faerie didn't exsist, yet here she was.

“I dunno, this book is rightfully dangerous, and powerful; I don't think I'd let any old human near the blasted thing. It's caused me enough trouble as is but still, you are a wordsmith, whatcha want the book for anyhow?” Titania was confused as she handed it to him, one minute this king of deadpan was pushing away with mild annoyance, the next he was offering an olive branch.

“Don't worry about what I plan to do with it, call it a hunch on how to prevent you from poofing on us as you so elequantly put it. As for your theory on me being a so-called wordsmith in your particular context, let's just say borrowing the book has something to do with testing that theory.” Niles stated with a soft grin on his face as he accepted the book.

After another brief discussion about what kind of place Titania came from was, the three agreed to keep the fact that she was a faerie a secret. To be blunt the world likely wasn't ready to find out about a whole other world, where many things of fiction interacted and lived on beyond the stories written about them. Niles was personally curious about the wildlife, perhaps Titania knew about fantastical beasts and where to find them. Perhaps the true characters behind the stories told were different than depicted, like actors once they finished their current role. Were dragons manipulative, decietful beasts of destruction one moon; and brave-hearted noble soldiers with open hearts the next? The posibilities were probably neverending, which really got his gears turning. If this wordsmithy was indeed something he could control, and it was able to alter it's own tale at any moment; perhaps there was a way to make things brighter for whatever sad tale the faerie escaped from.

“Finally some time to myself, now what kind of tale to tell about miss Titania. Hmm, it shouldn't be a complete story, that wouldn't buy us time. Might as well bite the bullet and see if I can fill my father's shoes...” Niles knew nobody was around or awake at this hour, he just felt more confident speaking his thoughts aloud sometimes.

Join me now, on a journey about to unfold; far beyond many legends ever told. In a foreign land, an ambitious kings darkness seeks to claim the light. Such a sad tale, for only the bravest souls would join the coming fight. The faerie princess had chosen her knight. But in her folly, she hadn't realized that her knight was but a knave. His armor did not shine as it protected his heart, he had lost that magical spark. His blade a mere quill, his whetstone merely ink and paper; he was a simple man, with simple ambitions. Thus did the faerie decide her fate, she would ignight this lost or possibly stolen spark before it was too late.

“There, that should do it for now; if this wordmithy is real, I dare it to challenge me and my will. Who knows, might actually be fun to go on a hectic once in a lifetime adventure.” Niles chuckled to himself as he closed the book and put it in his night stand.

At least Titania seemed fairly satisfied with the meal he cooked, though he could live without the snark. Hitomi did chime in that it was a vast improvement over his last attempt, however she also added some salt to the wound. He would have to work on his cooking skills when he found the time. For now he was more concerned with the faerie girl and the potential dangers that came with keeping her around.


End file.
